ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

A high-ranking member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was killed in an operation in southeastern Turkey, the Interior Ministry said on Nov. 14.

In a statement, the ministry said Hülya Eroğlu, known also by her codename “Gülbahar,” was among 31 militants killed during a counter-terrorism operation in the Bestler-Dereler region of the southeastern province of Şırnak.

The operation has been ongoing since Nov. 2, the statement added.

Eroğlu was a member of the PKK’s five-member senior council and the only council member currently located inside Turkey, the ministry stated.

Eroğlu was on the ministry’s “red list” of most-wanted militants, according to officials.

The Interior Ministry’s list is divided into five color-coded categories with red designated as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and grey.

Meanwhile, Turkish Air Forces on Nov. 13 carried out air raids in the country’s eastern and southeastern provinces and northern Iraq, killing at least 17 PKK militants, the military stated.

“As a result of coordination with intelligence units, 10 PKK militants, including the two Şemdinli region heads, codenamed ‘Xebat’ and ‘Cekdar,’ were killed in strikes by the Turkish Air Force,” the governor’s office said in a statement.